pictures, videos, and updates

The gastroenterologist said to lose some weight. I’m about 10-15 lbs. over my ideal weight. So I’m going back to the walking and the circuit training at the gym I went to last year. I’ll go to the gym two days a week and walk for ≥30 min on all other days that I’m on campus (which excludes weekends right now). Also trying to cut back on calories.

Heard from a colleague that artificial sweeteners are also bad for the liver. Couldn’t find much online (as opposed to HFCS, which the consensus seems to be is bad). So I may have to give up my beloved Diet Pepsi. if there is something to this then that might help to explain my current fatty issue. I do about 20 oz. of diet soft drink per day. So looks like I’m down to water and green/oolong tea. And I may try some NA beer.

Thanks to Pilsbury, Ru-Jun and I have been successfully cooking a lot of things together. Saturday we made chocolate chip cookies and Monday we made pizza. Tonight we made sugar cookies which Ru-Jun put rainbow sprinkles on. All this stuff turned out really good. Pretty easy from the tubes in the refridge case at the store.

My fatty liver issue (from about 6 years ago) has come back, revealed by recent blood work and a liver sonogram (although the most recent liver panel was normal). Met with the gastroenterologist today. In some ways this is a relief that it was this and not something new. But the causes are obscure. I am not obese (although I am 10-15 pounds above ideal weight, and getting to that weight with diet and exercise is something I will begin immediately) and I don’t have type II diabetes. I am also not in the ethnic groups with elevated risk of this condition. But the doctor said that it’s best to have zero alcohol consumption, so that’s unfortunately what I’ll do. Too bad because I really like beer with certain foods (and generally with dinner) and I like trying various wines. Oh well…

Ru-Jun wanted to cook pizza at home so today we got the stuff and did that for dinner. It’s really easy and it turned out pretty well. I think this will become part of our dinner repertoire. I’m really starting to like mushrooms and olives and Ru-Jun of course likes pepperoni.

I’ve been experimenting with not eating dairy for the last couple of days (except for cheese). Lower GI seems more comfortable. I might be developing lactose intolerance, like my dad did in middle age. Seems reasonable to expect that it would have a high heritability.

I let Ru-Jun sleep in. It was cold and rainy. Then we went to the lab so I could do a couple of things and then we went to the store to get a couple of tubes of chocolate chip cookie dough. We came home, at a semblance of lunch, and baked the cookies. Then we went to a bbq (held indoors) with Maxsym’s family and another family whose 9yo daughter is the best friend of their 8 yo. It was really fun.